Presidential candidate for the Diomaye President coalition Bassirou Diomaye Faye (C), and his wives Marie Khone Faye (L) and Absa Faye (R) looks on after casting their ballots at the École Ndiandiaye polling station in Ndiaganiao on March 24, 2024 during Senegal’s presidential elections. – The Senegalese go to the polls on March 24, 2024 to elect a new president in a totally unpredictable race after three years of turmoil and political crisis. Some 7.3 million voters are registered in the West African nation where two favourites have emerged: the ruling coalition’s former prime minister Amadou Ba and anti-establishment candidate Bassirou Diomaye Faye. (Photo by Khadidiatou Sene / AFP)

The African Union on Friday congratulated anti-establishment opposition candidate Bassirou Diomaye Faye on his victory in Senegal’s presidential election and hailed the “unanimous acceptance of the results”.

In a statement, African Union Commission President Moussa Faki Mahamat said he “warmly congratulates” Faye on the official declaration of his first-round win, while wishing him “full success in his weighty and noble charge”.

According to provisional results, Faye won the first round of the vote outright with 54.3 percent, far ahead of incumbent Macky Sall’s hand-picked candidate, former prime minister Amadou Ba.

Senegal’s Constitutional Court could declare Faye the official winner before the weekend, which would make a handover possible before April 2, the official end of Sall’s term.

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